Sadie Crowell (@sadiecrowelll) really wants to get her hands on a 2024 Lexus GX 550. Her problem isn’t being able to afford one. Or even finding a salesperson who isn’t trying to screw her over on financing and pulling shady deals.
It’s that there’s a waiting list in her area that is 12 months long. So when she found a sales team that had one, she jumped at the opportunity to put down a deposit. The only problem was, someone beat her to the punch in a blink of an eye. It wouldn’t have happened if a salesman just sent her a simple text message.
Dealership woes
“You guys if anyone knows anyone that works at Lexus or a Lexus dealership please let me know,” she says. “I have called state to state, county to county, all across America looking for a Lexus GX 550.”
She went on to specify that she was looking for the “Lux Plus” package on the vehicle but has come up short.
“Don’t normally care about trims but the Lux Plus has the sunroof and captain’s seat,” she says.
Crowell says she finally found one in Tampa—she lives in Florida—and wanted to put a deposit down.
“I waited two days and I go you know what I’m putting one down,” she says. “I call back this morning they’re like, ‘Yes it’s still available.’ I put my deposit down — well I didn’t.”
Crowell says she couldn’t put a deposit down immediately as she was waiting for the salesperson to text her information “about it all.”
@sadiecrowell What will we name her/him 🤪
♬ original sound – Sadie Crowell
However, that never happened.
“So I’m waiting, waiting. He texts me, ‘Hey we haven’t forgotten about you. Still gonna contact you, whatever.’”
However, when the salesperson contacted her back, it was with bad news.
“He texts me and he goes, ‘Hey sorry someone came in and got the car,’” she recalls.
Crowell contorts her face in frustration and grunts. “What?!” I literally called like nine times back and I’m like wait, are you serious? He was like, ‘Yeah but if have any more I’ll let you know.’ I’m like bro the wait list is 12 months.”
In spite of this, Crowell says she is “determined” as people “cancel” on their deposits.
Why all the fuss?
Crowell could be so hopeful about swooping in on a canceled Lexus GX 550 deposit due to the high praise the vehicle received. A stark, boxy, yet futuristic redesign has captivated reviewers. Car and Driver also writes that the car’s new drivetrain is more powerful than previous iterations.
Other reviewers have given in-depth looks at the GX 550. It’s in these clips where a unique aspect of its appeal is revealed: It has “Land Rover looks” with Lexus Dependability. Unsurprisingly, many love the design language of Land/Range Rovers. In fact, the brand has received awards praising its aesthetics.
However, these vehicles have a reputation for constantly breaking down. Not to mention, they also cost a lot to repair, becoming more financial trouble than they’re worth for owners. One needn’t scour the internet for too hard or too long to find “nightmare” stories associated with the brand.
Lexus/Toyota, on the other hand, has consistently ranked high in reliability. In fact, the brand has often been labeled number one in reliability in annual reports when measured against other car brands.
TikTokers love the GX 550
Several viewers said they looked up the car after seeing her video.
“I just looked up the lexus gx550 lux plus and omg its so pretty wtf,” one said.
Another chimed in to help her out: “My family’s dealership is selling one in Kentucky!!”
Someone else asked, “Would you travel to maryland??” Crowell said she was desperate enough to go even further than that: “I would travel to Switzerland at this point.”
If Crowell didn’t want to wait for her car, however, someone else mentioned that she could just get the redesigned Toyota Land Cruiser. And upon a close inspection, it appears that the cars do look fairly similar.
The Daily Dot has reached out to Lexus and Crowell via email for further comment.
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